Young-Old

Urban Utopias of an Aging Society

By Deane Simpson.

Young-Old examines contemporary architectural and urban mutations that have emerged as a consequence of one of the key demographic transformations of our time: aging populations. Distinguishing between different phases of old age, the book identifies the group known as the “young old” as a remarkable petri dish for experiments in subjectivity, collectivity, and environment. In investigating this field of latent urban and architectural novelty, Young-Old asserts both the escapist and emancipatory dimensions of these practices. Richly illustrated with drawings, maps, and photographs, the volume documents phenomena ranging from the continuous, golf-cart-accessible urban landscapes of the world’s largest retirement community in Florida and the mono-national urbanizaciones of “the retirement home of Europe” on Costa del Sol, to the Dutch-themed residential community at Huis Ten Bosch in southern Japan.

Young-Old examines contemporary architectural and urban mutations that have emerged as a consequence of one of the key demographic transformations of our time: aging populations. Distinguishing between different phases of old age, the book identifies the group known as the “young old” as a remarkable petri dish for experiments in subjectivity, collectivity, and environment. In investigating this field of latent urban and architectural novelty, Young-Old asserts both the escapist and emancipatory dimensions of these practices. Richly illustrated with drawings, maps, and photographs, the volume documents phenomena ranging from the continuous, golf-cart-accessible urban landscapes of the world’s largest retirement community in Florida and the mono-national urbanizaciones of “the retirement home of Europe” on Costa del Sol, to the Dutch-themed residential community at Huis Ten Bosch in southern Japan.